Trash compressor



April l5, 1969 F. R. GLADWIN TRASH COMPRESSOR Sheet `Fired Dec. e. 1367FLoYo R. GLAnwlN av ('w, MW, 3' L22;

ATTORNEYS April 15, 1969 F. R. GLAbwlN 3,438,321

A TRASH coMPREssR 'n Sheet Filed Dec., 8. 1967 Flsj?" Flcmo NVENTORFLOYD V R. GLADWIN BY MIM/1.-

.. ATTORNEYS United States Patent O U.S. Cl. 100-221 7 Claims ABSTRACTOF THE DISCLOSURE A trash compressor formed of a cabinet containing, inits lower portion, a vertically elongated open top receptacle, havingfront and side walls, but an open rear, pivotally connected at its lowerend to the cabinet for swinging forwardly outwardly of the cabinet, withthe rear wall of the receptacle normally closed by the cabinet rearwall. A horizontally arranged cover, having a central opening, lits overthe receptacle to hold it in place, with the cover being hingedlysecured to the cabinet for swinging upwardly to thus permit outwardswinging of the receptacle. A disposable bag is closely fitted withinthe receptacle, with its upper edge folded over the three walls thereof.A downwardly movable ram, located above the receptacle, compacts thetrash contained within the lbag, with the ram being horizontally movableto also compact trash contained within a second receptacle and bagpositioned within the cabinet, alongside the iirst mentioned receptacle.

Background of invention In large buildings and factories, and the like,it is conventional to bale trash, such as waste papers and the like, inbaling presses in order to compact the volume thereof and permit itseasier handling and removal. Such conventional baling presses are large,requiring considerable space, and being relatively expensive, makingthese totally uneconomical for use in handling smaller volumes of trash,such as is produced in a relatively smaller hospital restaurant orcafeteria, smaller dwelling house or apartment house, and other smallerbuildings with fewer occupants.

In addition, the conventional baling equipment produces relatively largesize and heavy bales which frequently require handling machinery forpicking up and moving. Such relatively large and heavy bales are totallyimpractical where conventional garbage pick-up methods are used fordisposing of trash and other garbage.

In the `cases of dwelling homes or apartment houses, trash is frequentlymanually compacted within garbage cans or disposable bags containedwithin garbage cans, but the degree of compacting is relatively small sothat the volume is relatively large and difficult to handle manually.

Summary of invention It is an object of this invention to provide asmall size, light-weight, compacting apparatus for trash compression andparticularly useful in restaurants and cafeteras, dwelling homes, smallapartments and the like, where the quantity lof trash is relativelysmall and wherein by compressing the trash, small size and relativelylight-weight bales of trash are formed within disposable bags so as tobe easily handled manually for removal by conventional garbage pick-uptrucks and the like.

A further object of this invention is to provide a trash baler in theform of a small cabinet containing one or more receptacles in its lowerportion, with receptacles mounted on a forwardly swinging panel, so thatthe receptacles and the panel can be swung forwardly and outwardly foreasily and manually removing therefrom dis- 3,438,321 Patented Apr. 15,1969 posable bags containing compressed trash. The invention alsocontemplates utilizing a single ram member, such as a hydraulic orpneumatically operated cylinder having a ram member secured to itsdownwardly movable piston, with this ram member being positionahle aboveone or another ofthe receptacles, where more than one receptacle isused, thereby reducing considerably the expense and the weight and easeof operation of the device.

The invention contemplates a trash compressor which is so simply andinexpensively constructed that it becomes feasible to use even in anordinary single family dwelling house so that the weekly trash of asingle family can be so compressed in volume as to frequently be no morethan one small size disposable bag of trash as compared with the usualnumber of garbage cans commonly used.

These and other objects and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent upon reading the following description of which the attacheddrawings form a part.

Description of drawings' FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the trashcompressor.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view similar to FIG. l, but with the front paneland receptacles swung into their open position for unloading compressedtrash.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the compressor.

FIG. 4 is a top plan, cross-sectional view, taken as if in the directionof arrows 4 4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the cabinet of the compressor.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged, cross-sectional view of a portion of theapparatus, taken in the direction of arrows 6--6 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional plan view looking down upon the tops of thereceptacles, and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the lower portion of the cabinet andthe receptacles taken in the direction of arrows 8-8 of FIG. 7, but withthe disposable bags, compression member and trash shown schematically.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the lower portion of the cabinet and ofthe receptacles.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a disposable bag, and

FIG. 1l is a perspective view showing the bag positioned within areceptacle.

FIG. 12 is a perspective View of a modification employing a singlereceptacle.

Detailed description As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the trash compressor 10includes a vertically elongated cabinet 11 having side walls 12, a rearwall 13 and a front, top cross panel 14. Positioned approximately midwaywithin the cabinet, iS a horizontally arranged hopper or cover 15 whichis hinged by a hinge 16 (see FIGS. 3 and 4)) to the rear wall 13 of thecabinet for swinging vertically upwardly, as illustrated in FIG. 2. Thecover is provided with openings 17 through which trash is placed.

A ram 18 is positioned above one of the cover openings. The ramcomprises a uid operated cylinder, such as a hydraulic cylinder 19containing a movable piston 20 (see FIG. 6) and a downwardly extendingpiston rod 21, upon which is secured a ram plate 22. The cylinder issecured to the bottom of a support plate 23 which is horizontallyarranged and is supported by means of slidable support bearings 24 uponhorizontally arranged tracks 25 which span the upper portion 0f thecabinet. The plate 23 is positioned a short distance beneath the bottomof the tracks 25 and when the ram plate is moved downwardly to apply acompressive force, the reaction thereto causes the plate 23 to move upslightly bearing against the bottom of the tracks 25 to thereby lock itin place and also support it against the compressive forces.

A hydraulic or pneumatic cylinder 26 is secured to the top of the plateand its piston rod extends across the top of the cabinet where it isanchored at one end.

Conventional control means (not shown) may be utilized to actuate thecylinder 26 to thereby cause it and its attached support plate 23 tomove from the position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, horizontally, until theram 18 is positioned above the second of the two openings 17 in thecover. FIG. 3 schematically shows the two positions of the ram in dottedline.

For example, conventional control valves may be used to first actuatethe hydraulic cylinder 26 to move the ram over the second of the twoopenings and thereafter a second control can .be used to operate thecylinder 19 to cause its piston and ram plate 22 to move downwardlythrough the opening 17, thereby selectively operating the ram platewithin either of the two openings when desired.

A vertically arranged swinging panel 30, covers the lower front portionof the cabinet and is provided with hinges 31 (see FIG. l) so that thepanel may be swung outwardly into the position shown in FIG. 2. Theupper edge of the panel is widened by bending to form a bent upper edge32 which supports the outer edge of the cover 15. Referring now to FIGS.7, 8 and 9, a pair of U-shaped in cross-section, vertically elongatedreceptacles 33 are mounted upon the swinging panel 30. These receptaclescomprise a front Wall 34, side wall 35, bottoms 36. Their rear portionsare open. The receptacles are mounted upon the swinging panel 30 bymeans of a double U-shaped spacer member 37 so that their front wallsare spaced a short distance from the panel 30 and their adjacent sidewalls 4are spaced apart a short distance (see FIG. 9).

Vertical side edge anges 38 and center flanges 39 are formed on the rearWall 13 of the cabinet to extend forwardly and to engage, in face toface contact, the outer surfaces of the receptacle side Walls so that ineffect the rear edges of the receptacles are embraced between a pair offlanges 38-39 to hold them properly in place and prevent them frombowing outwardly under compressive forces. At the same time, thereceptacle is thereby closed by the pair of flanges 38-39 and the rearwall portion of the wall 13 ofthe cabinet.

A removable, disposable bag 40, such as a large, generally square shapedpaper bag 40 (see FIG. 10) is positioned in each of the two receptacles.The upper edges of the bags are folded downwardly to form a cuff 41which fits over the top edges of the front and side walls of each of thereceptacles and the bag is preferably of sufficient length so that itsbottom rests upon the bottom 36 of the receptacles.

Operation In operation, the cover is swung upwardly and the swingingpanel is swung outwardly, as illustrated in FIG.- 2. At that point, abag is inserted within each of the two receptacles with the upper edgesof the bags folded over to form the cuffs 41 for engaging with the upperedges of the receptacle walls.

Once the bags are properly installed within the receptacles, theswinging panel 30 is replaced into its position shown in FIG. 8, and thecover is dropped downwardly so that its outer free edge rests upon thetop 32 of the panel 30.

At this point, trash, such as if used in a school cafeteria, paperplates, trays, etc., is thrown through the openings in the cover 15 forreceipt by the bags. Periodically, the ram 18 is operated to firstcompress the trash in one of the bags and then is moved sideways aboveand operated within the second of the bags, thereby periodicallycompressing the trash to make more room.

When the bags are filled with a tightly compressed bale-like collectionof trash, the front cover is swung upwardly, the panel 30 is swungoutwardly and the bags pulled upwardly and outwardly from thereceptacles.

The absence of the rear walls from each of the receptacles permitssuicient flexibility of the rear edges of the side walls so that thebags may be easily removed manually from their receptacles.

FIG. 8 illustrates the operation of the ram plate 22 in entering throughone of the openings 17 in the cover for compressing the trash in one ofthe bags.

After the removal of the compressed trash containing bags, the bags arereplaced with fresh bags and the operation is then repeated.

'I'he cabinet and receptacle structure is sufliciently strong andsufficiently efficient so as to reduce what might otherwise be thecontents of a large number of trash barrels into a single bag ofcompressed trash, thus permitting the easy manual removal and handlingof the trash.

The foregoing description relates to a compressor having two receptacleswhich is the most practical to use in cafeteras, relatively largebuildings, etc. However, in a single family dwelling, the capacity ofthe double receptacle device may be too large and the entire unit may betoo large to conveniently fit within a kitchen or utility room area orthe like. Hence, FIG. 12 illustrates a single receptacle modification45, wherein the cabinet 46 is of a size to contain a single rather thana double receptacle, with the ram 47 being arranged, non-movablysideways, above the single receptacle, that is, above the opening in thehorizontal cover 48. The receptacle thus is secured, as described above,to the swinging out panel 49. The construction is otherwisesubstantially identical to and the operation is approximately the sameas that described with the first mentioned modification.

Having fully described an operative embodiment of this invention, I nowclaim:

1. A trash compressor comprising an open front cabinet;

a vertical panel closing the lower portion of the cabinet front andpivotally connected at its lower end to the cabinet for swingingforwardly and outwardly of the cabinet;

an open top receptacle having a front wall and side walls, secured tothe panel, with its front walls spaced inwardly a short distance fromthe panel, and with the rear of the receptacle being normally closed bythe rear of the cabinet;

a horizontal cover fitted over the tops of the receptacle and panel andhingedly connected at its rear edge to the cabinet for swinging upwardlywithin the cabinet for exposing the receptacle and -panel for outwardsswinging, the cover having a trash receiving opening formed thereinabove the receptacle;

a downwardly movable ram member arranged within the cabinet above saidcover opening for downward movement into the receptacle at selectedtimes, for compressing trash contained therein.

2. A construction as defined in claim 1, and a pair of spaced apart,forwardly extending fianges formed on the rear wall of the cabinet andarranged to fit against, in face to face contact, the outer surfaces ofthe two side walls of the receptacle for holding the rear edges of saidside walls against springing apart under the compressive forces of saidram member.

3. A construction as defined in claim 1, and including a removable anddisposable bag closely fitted in said receptacle for receiving trashplaced therein with the upper edges of said bag being turned downwardlyfor folding over the upper edges of the front and side walls of thereceptacle.

4. A construction as defined in claim 1 and including a secondreceptacle identical to the first mentioned receptacle and identicallysecured to said panel, with the two receptacles being arranged side byside, and a second opening in said cover above said second receptacle;

means for moving said ram member above either of the two openings;

said means comprising tracks spanning the top of the cabinet andextending above the receptacles;

a horizontal plate slidably secured to said tracks and means forselectively moving the plate along the tracks above either of the twoopenings; and

said ram member including a iluid operated cylinder secured to thebottom of said plate and having a movable piston rod extendingdownwardly beneath the cylinder and terminating in a compression platefor selectively compressing the trash in either one of the tworeceptacles.

5. A trash compressor comprising an open front cabinet having avertically arranged panel closing the lower front portion of thecabinet, the panel being pivotally connected to the cabinet for swingingforwardly and outwardly thereof;

a pair of U-shaped, in cross-section, vertically elongated receptaclesarranged side by side within the cabinets with their front walls securedto but spaced a short distance inwardly of, said panel, and with theiradjacent side walls being parallel and spaced apart slightly;

the receptacles being open at their tops and rears, but

each having a bottom;

a horizontally arranged cover positioned within the cabinet directlyabove the top edges of the receptacles and panel, and being hinged atits rear to the cabinet for swinging upwardly, while its front edgenormally is positioned upon the upper edge of the panel;

openings formed in the cover above each receptacle for receiving trash;

a removable, disposable bag, closely fitted into each of the receptaclesand engaged with the upper edges thereof for receiving trash placedtherein;

a compression ram member positioned within the cabinet, above one of thecover openings for moving downwardly at selected times, for compressingthe trash contained within one of the bags;

said ram member being mounted upon a horizontally movable support platehaving means `for moving horizontally at selected times, for positioningthe ram member above the other opening for compressing the trashcontained within the second bag. `6. A construction as dened in claimv5, and including forwardly extending, spaced apart, vertical angesformed on the rear of the cabinet and each normally arranged in face toface contact with the exposed outer surface of its adjacent receptacleside wall for thereby embracing and holding the rear free edges of eachof the receptacles and with the rear of the receptacle, thereby beingclosed by the rear of the cabinet.

7. A construction as defined in claim 6, and including tracks spanningthe top of the cabinet and extending above the receptacles;

said horizontal plate being slidably secured to said tracks and meansfor selectively moving the plate along the tracks above either of thetwo openings;

and said ram member including a luid operated cylinder secured to thebottom of said plate and having a movable piston rod extendingdownwardly beneath the cylinder and terminating in a compression platefor selectively compressing the trash in either one of the tworeceptacles.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 492,259 2/1893 Barrett 100-229 XR500,660 7/1893 Kisinger 100-221 XR 2,439,725 4/ 1948 Frost 100-2262,757,603 8/1956 Wilson et al. 100-226 2,970,533 2/ 1961 Allen 100-2263,149,523 9/1964 Goldberg et al. 100-226 XR 3,171,447 3/1965 Fowler etal 141-248 XR 3,357,346 12/ 1967 Crafoord 100-229 XR BILLY I. WILHITE,Primary Examiner.y

U.S. C1. X.R.

